{ "abstract": "Gender-based violence (GBV) is a major global public health and human rights issue with wide-ranging physical and mental health consequences. Physiotherapists frequently work with populations and conditions plausibly linked to violence exposure, yet little is known about their preparedness to identify and respond to GBV in Spanish-speaking contexts. We conducted a cross-sectional online convenience survey of Spanish-speaking physiotherapists from Latin America and Spain using the Spanish-language Physician Readiness to Manage Intimate Partner Violence Survey (PREMIS), originally developed and validated for intimate partner violence (IPV) and administered here with broader GBV framing (violencia basada en género) while retaining some IPV-specific items. The survey assessed self-reported preparation, self-perceived knowledge, objective knowledge, opinions, and practice issues related to GBV. Descriptive analyses were conducted across PREMIS subscales and item-level responses. A total of 719 physiotherapists from 15 countries were included in the analytic sample. Self-reported preparedness to identify and respond to GBV was low (mean preparation score 2.5/7), as was self-perceived knowledge (2.4/7). Nearly three-quarters of respondents reported not identifying any GBV cases in the previous six months, and engagement in response practices, such as risk assessment, safety planning, documentation, and referral was uncommon. Nearly half (45%) reported no formal GBV training. Respondents also reported limited awareness of institutional protocols, referral resources, and organisational supports for GBV response. Attitudes towards victim-survivors were generally supportive, with low endorsement of victim-blaming beliefs. Physiotherapists in this sample reported low preparedness, limited training, and substantial system-level barriers to responding to GBV in clinical practice. These findings suggest an underused opportunity to strengthen health-sector responses to GBV through physiotherapy education, professional training, and organisational infrastructure that supports safe identification, referral and trauma-informed care. Future research should evaluate strategies for embedding trauma-informed responses to GBV within routine physiotherapy practice.", "abstract_shown": true, "affiliations": [ "Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Anáhuac México, Mexico City, Mexico", "Independent Physiotherapist, Cali, Colombia", "Independent Physiotherapist, Avilés, Spain", "Scientific Society of Physiotherapy in Mental Health, College of Therapists of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica", "Independent Physiotherapist, Coyhaique, Chile", "Mental Health Physiotherapy Association of Guatemala (ASOFISME), Guatemala City, Guatemala", "Physical Medicine Service, Hospital de Alta Complejidad Virgen de la Puerta, Trujillo, Peru", "Kinesiology and Physiotherapy Program, Universidad del Gran Rosario (UGR), Rosario, Argentina", "Faculty of Medicine, University of El Salvador, San Salvador, El Salvador", "Nutrition, Exercise & Social Equity (NExuS) Research Group, Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health, School of Clinical Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia", "KU Leuven Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium", "Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia" ], "article_type": "Research Article", "arxiv": null, "author_total": 18, "authors": [ { "affs": [ 0 ], "name": "María Eugenia de León Pérez" }, { "affs": [ 1 ], "name": "Moisés Jonathan Magos Chong" }, { "affs": [ 2 ], "name": "Maira Alejandra Gamboa Gutiérrez" }, { "affs": [ 3 ], "name": "Jimena Figueroa Valero" }, { "affs": [ 4 ], "name": "Raquel García Tarrazo" }, { "affs": [ 5 ], "name": "Denis Montoya-Valverde" }, { "affs": [ 6 ], "name": "Paulina Nicole Cedas Ravena" }, { "affs": [ 7 ], "name": "Carmen María Gantenbein Leiva" }, { "affs": [ 8 ], "name": "Manuel Alexander Gonzales Odar" }, { "affs": [ 9 ], "name": "Jorgelina Dellacasa" }, { "affs": [ 10 ], "name": "Claudia Belen Aguilar Ruiz Velasco" }, { "affs": [ 11 ], "name": "Ana Catalina Mejía de Guardado" }, { "name": "Grace McKeon" }, { "name": "Davy Vancampfort" }, { "name": "Megan Teychenne" }, { "name": "Uzma Choudhry" }, { "name": "Thea Baker" }, { "name": "Simon Rosenbaum" } ], "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7xq6ak3tfjdby.bib", "cited_by": 0, "doi": "10.1371/journal.pgph.0007075", "fulltext_url": "https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgph.0007075", "id": "7xq6ak3tfjdby", "issns": [ "2767-3375" ], "landing_url": "https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgph.0007075", "language": null, "licence": "CC-BY-4.0", "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0", "licence_source": "journal", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "metadata_licence": null, "native_subjects": [ [ "openalex", "3306|Intimate Partner and Family Violence" ], [ "plos", "/Biology and life sciences/Psychology/Psychological attitudes" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Epidemiology/Medical risk factors" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Epidemiology/Medical risk factors/Traumatic injury risk factors/Violent crime/Intimate partner violence" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Health care/Health care providers/Allied health care professionals" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Health care/Physiotherapy" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Public and occupational health/Behavioral and social aspects of health" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Public and occupational health/Traumatic injury risk factors/Violent crime/Intimate partner violence" ], [ "plos", "/People and places/Geographical locations/Europe/European Union/Spain" ], [ "plos", "/Research and analysis methods/Research design/Survey research/Surveys" ], [ "plos", "/Social sciences/Psychology/Psychological attitudes" ], [ "plos", "/Social sciences/Sociology/Criminology/Crime/Violent crime/Intimate partner violence" ] ], "openalex": "W7206185762", "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pgph.0007075&type=printable", "pmcid": null, "pmid": null, "published": "2026-09-02", "publisher": "Public Library of Science", "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7xq6ak3tfjdby.ris", "sources": [ { "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:02Z", "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pgph.0007075", "source": "plos", "url": "https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgph.0007075" } ], "subjects": [ { "field": "medicine", "origin": "plos:epidemiology", "subfield": "epidemiology-public-health" } ], "title": "Physiotherapists are underutilised in health-sector responses to gender-based violence: A cross-sectional survey of preparedness across Spanish-speaking countries", "title_text": "Physiotherapists are underutilised in health-sector responses to gender-based violence: A cross-sectional survey of preparedness across Spanish-speaking countries", "type": "peer-reviewed", "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:18:02Z", "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7xq6ak3tfjdby", "venue": "PLOS Global Public Health", "versions": [] }